Monday, 21 April 2014

On a recent visit to our wonderful capital city, my hubby
and I decided to try the new concept in accommodation and hospitality that is...
‘Citizen M’.

Citizen M is a ‘new breed’ of hotel, (currently in London,
Glasgow, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, New York and Paris, with hotels also being
considered for Istanbul and Asia Pacific) whose aim is to provide “affordable
luxury for the people”. Did they deliver? Well, we stayed for two nights at London
Bankside, and this is what we thought...

Location:

Great! Close to the
Shard and Tate Modern, with a short ten minute walk to Southwark tube station. Apparently, all Citizen M hotels are situated
either at the heart of the city in which they’re located, or next to a major
airport.

Check in / Check out:

Brilliant! No fuss, no frills, (no over-friendly, grinning
receptionist making polite conversation, when (after a long and tiring journey)
all you want to do is get to your room.
Instead half a dozen touch screens for simple, easy, self-serve check-in
and payment. There is however a very
pleasant and friendly member of staff on stand-by (24/7), ready to offer help
and assistance, but only if you need,
or ask for it.

Lobby (aka Living
Room):

Citizen M likes to refer to ‘its lobby’ as ‘your
living-room’, and actually for me this is the jewel in the Citizen M
crown. The living-room area is fantastic.
Incredibly chic and ultra modern, yet
cosy and comfortable, with several open plan areas and a very relaxed
atmostphere. From cosy fire-place, LED
TV and comfy sofas, to cafe style environment, cocktail bar to courtyard, each area
is perfectly designed for eating, working, meeting with friends, or simply
relaxing with a cocktail after a hard day’s sight-seeing.

The Vitra furniture has been cleverly designed and is both
stylish and comfortable. There are
pieces of specially selected and commissioned art decorating the walls, and there’s
even a Mendo bookstore (smaller version of the bookstore in Amsterdam). The whole place is scattered with interesting
artefacts and photographs and the bookshelves are full of literary classics for
guests to enjoy.

Food and Drink:

The informal, yet very stylish, bar and ‘canteen’ area is
staffed 24 hours a day (but there’s no room service), which wasn’t an issue for
us.

If you book in advance, a full English breakfast will cost
you £11.95, or if purchased on the day it will set you back £14.95 – a bit
pricey we thought. If you’re not a fan
of the full English, or, like us, are trying not to over-spend, there are
plenty alternatives on offer which you can just select from the self-serve bar.
Keen to get out there and on with our sight-seeing, we simply grabbed a coffee
and a croissant, which cost around £4 per person. Apart from this, we didn’t eat at all in the
hotel. We saw what was on offer and,
from sushi to sandwiches and hot meals alike, it all looked excellent, we just
wanted to get out and about as much as we possibly could during our short stay.

We did though have a night-cap each evening, in the hotel
lounge, before crashing into our incredible comfy Citizen M king size bed (more
about this later). The bar staff were
really attentive and friendly, and the drinks cost just about what you’d expect
to pay in a London hotel (£12 ish for a glass of good red and a beer /
cocktails from about £7 ish each).

The Bedrooms:

Pretty much everything at Citizen M could be described as
ultra modern, and a little bit ‘quirky’ – this is especially so when it comes
to the bedrooms.

Small and perfectly formed are words I would also use to
describe the bedrooms. It has to be
said, there’s not much room to swing a cat, but the wall to wall windows and
extremely comfortable king size bed with luxurious Frette linens, kind of make
up for the lack of floor space.

Each room has free WiFi and movies on demand, and is also equipped
with a tablet which controls pretty much everything, from the TV to the
colourful mood-lighting.

The toilet and shower are located in a kind of futuristic
looking, frosted glass, ‘pod’ (which actually, in our opinion, felt a little ‘caravanesque’!) The shower was in fact excellent, complete
with a choice of complimentary ‘am’ and ‘pm’ shower gels and a ‘rain shower’
feature.

If you’ve got more money than sense, and usually like to
make the most of your hotel room mini-bar, then you will be disappointed with
Citizen M. There is no mini-bar! Instead, each room is equipped with a small
fridge, just in case you want to chill any drinks you may have brought with you,
or have bought locally. Complimentary
bottled water is also supplied and is replenished daily.

As with many hotels these days, each room is equipped with a
pretty decent hairdryer – but unlike many other hotel rooms, there’s not an
iron or trouser press in sight. There is
however an ironing room on each floor, where hotel guests can de-crumple their
clothes, with a pretty snazzy looking steam iron, if they absolutely must – I have
to say I was not, at any point during my stay, tempted to take advantage of
this facility.

Our suggestion for
improvement:

We know Citizen M is ‘new breed’, and that they are
introducing a totally new concept in hotel accommodation, we get that, and it’s
great, but, please... bring back tea and
coffee making facilities to the hotel bedroom!
We really missed being able to make ourselves a brew in the room whilst
getting ready in the morning. And, although
my hubby thoroughly enjoyed himself playing around with the tablet and the mood
lighting, he would have gladly traded this ‘gimicky’ feature for a good
old-fashioned kettle!

To summarise:

This hotel is pretty new so, as you would expect, from lobby
and lounge areas, to toilets and bedrooms, everything is still very clean and
fresh looking. I did however get a sense
that the staff take great pride in their hotel, and that the high standards that
have already been set, will continue to be maintained – I suppose only time will
tell.

To be honest, when we travel, we tend to spend very little
time in our hotel of choice and are usually more than satisfied with a simple
Premier Inn or Travelodge (which would definitely have been cheaper). Having
said that, this trip was part of my husband’s 50th birthday
celebrations, so we wanted something a little more special this time, but couldn’t
possibly afford some of the higher end, London hotels.

Citizen M for us, was the perfect choice on this occasion –
a refreshing change and definite upgrade from our usual budget hotels, but (at
£292 for two nights) without completely breaking the bank.

All in all, I would highly recommend Citizen M, and yes, I
think a touch of ‘affordable luxury’ is exactly what they deliver.

Which fabulous city to try next?? ;-)

Have you stayed in any of the other Citizen M hotels? Would love to hear what you think.

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PS: All views and opinions on Citizen M are my own, honest ones.Sadly I've not received any payment or other incentive from Citizen M to write this post :-(

Reflecting on the past twenty-two years, and with Mothers’
Day still fresh in my mind, I felt inspired to write a post about my own
thoughts on being a mum, about the pleasures and pains, and about the amazing, often
unpredictable, roller coaster ride that is
Motherhood.

Where to start? Well,
I guess, at the very beginning... giving birth!
I won’t go into too much detail here but, after a relatively pleasant
and uncomplicated first pregnancy, my forceps delivery wasn’t exactly a walk in
the park. Second-time round was quicker
and easier, but it still hurt like hell!
Having said that, difficult as it all felt at the time, I had the best
medical care I could have hoped for, and effective pain relief to help me
through. It was at this point I had a renewed
and deepened respect for my own mother, and women like her, who have gone
through childbirth without any pain relief whatsoever, and without their partner
by their side to comfort and encourage them. Apparently in ‘the olden days’
(yes, I was born longer ago than I care to remember), your other half was
banished from the delivery suite, and left to pace the hospital corridors alone
– thank goodness times have changed!

So, having gone through all that pain, you have this delicate little bundle of joy to take home and care for. You are totally responsible for this tiny
person’s every need. They will pull at
your heart (and purse) strings, for at least for the next 18 years of his/her
life, and quite possibly beyond that, although to a lesser degree (you hope!) Very scary and yet wonderfully exciting, all
at the same time.

Okay, what comes next?
Well, I guess some things are inevitable for all of us new mums and
babies. I bet there’s not a single mum out there who can’t relate to what feels
like the constant juggling act of everyday life, particularly in those early
days. Feeding, nappy changing, endless washing and mountainous piles of ironing,
shopping (that is of the grocery sort, not the shoes, handbags and lunch with
the girls sort), and mopping up baby sick... all on little more than two hours
sleep (if you’re lucky!)

And that’s just the practical side of things. Even more of a shock to the system for me,
were the emotions. Oh my word, I have
never experienced such a mixed bag of love, pride... and worry! I also remember
the feeling of depression as I doubted I would ever leave the house again
without a huge baby-changing bag slung over my shoulder. Nor could I envisage a time when I would
again have time to spend styling my hair or putting on a bit of lippy, or even
just going to the loo in peace! As the
years go by, well, the pleasures and pains continue, they just change.

You delight in watching them take their first tentative steps,
whilst worrying that they might fall and hurt themselves. You’re proud as you wave them off for their
first day at school, but at the same time have a tear in your eye thinking ‘what
if they don’t cope without me?’ (or is it that you might not cope without them?)
You watch them in their first school play, front row, tissues in hand,
hanging on to their every word and movement, hoping they’re not feeling too
nervous, and clapping ‘til your hands are sore once their performance is over.

Your heart breaks when they’re unhappy about something (even
if it’s only the fact that they had a fall out with their best friend... which
lasted all of three hours!), and when they’re happy, well, the world is a
marvellous place.

When they’re older, you’re excited for them when they
discover the fun to be had at wild parties, nights out, and on crazy holidays
abroad with their mates. Yet it doesn’t
seem that long ago that you were doing those things yourself, and you know all
too well that this stage may also involve experimentation with cigarettes,
alcohol, and possibly worse! When they're out painting the town red (now there's a 'mum' phrase for you), any attempt to go to bed and sleep soundly is futile. You
wait for them to come home well into the early hours, settling only when you hear them
fall through the front door as the birds begin to sing.

A knowing smile spreads across your face when they find love, and you want them to have that feeling
forever, yet a part of you is preparing yourself to help mend a broken heart if
it all goes wrong. Yes, you’d be there at the ready, with an over-sized duvet
and an extra large tub of their favourite ice-cream... true Bridget Jones
style!

You know through it all, at times, they will face
disappointment, temptation, peer pressure, stressful situations and
relationship difficulties, to name but a few of life’s challenges. But you also know that you’ve done your best ... that is, your best to guide them, teach them
right from wrong and to instil moral values.
At the same time, and I believe just as (if not more) important, is to
let them know it’s okay to be human, and that we all mess up at times (goodness
knows, they’ve seen me mess up more than once).
They will make mistakes in
life, but they can get over them, and what’s more learn from them.

You’ve done your best
to equip them with the skills to become confident, sociable, independent and decent
young adults who will hopefully go on to contribute to society, and the world,
in a positive way. If you’re really
lucky they might even go on to become parents themselves (and bless you with
grandchildren to worry about... and of course be proud of!)

It’s not an easy job, being a mum, and most of us enter into
it not really appreciating the
enormity of the responsibility, or the
impact it will have on our lives. So why do so many of us go on to have more
children? Because, as well as realising
motherhood can be difficult and challenging, we also come to realise that it is
the
most rewarding and worthwhile job we will ever do, and with it come feelings of love and pride that you never
imagined possible.

You know the stage I described above? The one where you’re
bogged down with the struggles of running a home as well as being a mum, and
can’t see an end to it all? Well...
don’t blink. Those times are gone in a
flash, and together, you and your ‘baby(ies)’ will race through all of the above, at break-neck speed. Then, before you know it, that
baby-changing bag has been replaced with a stylish clutch and once again,
you’ve got all the time in the world to do your hair and lippy (and take as
long as you like on the loo!). But wouldn’t you love to cast that lippy aside,
turn the clock back, and hold your baby in your arms once again?.. well, maybe
just for a little while.

As I write this, my son Mitch, is on his way back home for
Easter, to Leeds from Guildford, where he’s studying for a degree at The
Academy of Contemporary Music. I miss him, and am immensely proud of him, on a
daily basis. From adorable brown-eyed little boy, to strong, handsome, and
talented young man, he has enriched my life more than he will ever know (he’s made
it quite stressful at times too... but we won’t mention any of that ;-) )

Anyhow, as it’s Elissa’s birthday tomorrow, I suppose I better
just say a word or two about her.

From not so bonny
baby, (she won’t mind me saying that, only the other night we were laughing
together at some less than flattering photos from her early years... I blame
the forceps!), to beautiful, smart, successful young woman, I have to say the
last twenty-two years have been a privilege – perhaps easy to say on reflection
as, like all mums and daughters, we’ve had our moments!

Packing her off to Newcastle University almost four years ago, it felt
like I was waving good-bye to my little girl forever. She returned home, almost a year ago now, bringing with her an English Literature
degree. No, she’s not my little girl any more, she’s a woman in her own right, working
full-time in digital marketing, with her own thoughts and opinions. I don’t have my little girl any longer, but
I do have a very special, and hopefully life-long friend. Who else would allow me to borrow their clothes
on an almost daily basis, and give me such blunt (though I have to admit, useful)
hair and make-up advice, telling me straight out if I’m starting to look, or act, anything like a forty-something year old mum of two (god forbid!! ;-)

Like all the other stages in her life, I know having Elissa
home and being so close, won’t last forever. Indeed, both of my 'children' will find a permanent
place of their own at some stage, and move out of the family home for good
(she says... hopefully!) But, wherever they are and
whatever they do, I know one thing’s for sure... the pleasures and the pains
will continue, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I guess that’s just part of life... just part of motherhood!

Monday, 7 April 2014

There’s nothing quite like a traditional afternoon tea (in fact I think it’s one of my all time favourite indulgences) but, for most of us, it’s an occasional treat reserved only for special occasions.

Afternoon tea for me
is not just about the yummy little bite-sized
sandwiches with the crusts removed,
the gorgeous scones with lashings of clotted cream, or even just the
wonderful taste of a good old cuppa. It’s
about the whole experience. You know what I mean... the tradition, the ritual,
the Britishness, the use of delicate cups and saucers and the ‘chinking’ sound
of teaspoons against them, tea pots,
sugar lumps and pretty floral table cloths, all of which are so reminiscent of
childhood tea parties with your favourite dollies and teddy bears (or is that
just me?!)

However, let’s face it, traditional afternoon tea is not
exactly nutrient packed (unless you count the strawberries in your conserve as
one of your five a day – or is it seven a day now?!) and we’d all be the size
of a house, and a heart attack waiting to happen, if we stuffed ourselves with
cake and cream every day. But it’s not
just that, even if the health implications of consuming such calorific treats
too often don’t put you off, then surely the cost does. Oh yes, those lovely little tea-rooms and
fancy country hotels know how to serve an afternoon tea in style, but they also
know how to charge for it!

Well, strapped for cash or not, you can treat yourself to a
delicious home-made afternoon tea,
anytime, with relatively little cost or effort. And, whilst I can’t claim the home-made
version is any more healthy for your body, it is perhaps healthier for your
mind and soul... imagine the satisfaction, having created your very own
scrumptious sarnies and fluffy sponges, and then devouring them with a smug smile on your face, knowing
that it’s cost you next to nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you start rustling up
afternoon tea on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Afternoon tea is a special thing and
arguably, as such, should be reserved
for special occasions. But if you do just fancy having friends and family round
in the afternoon, for a bite to eat and a cuppa, and would like to make it that
little bit extra special, then read on and have a go. I did this one for Mothers' Day but it would
make a lovely tea-time treat for any occasion – add a few little glass dishes
of mini eggs and a bunch of daffies to your table, and it would be perfect for Easter Sunday.

The beauty of afternoon tea is that it’s one of those meals
you can completely prepare the day before... yes including the sandwiches, no, they won't be soggy. So on the day itself, all you have to do is
enjoy!

The Food

I’m a very thrifty missus these days, and do most of my food
shopping at Aldi. I managed to get everything
I needed from there to make my afternoon tea (except the clotted cream) for
just under £45 (including a few bottles of fizz). This isn’t far off what you might pay per
head in a tea-room or hotel, and there was more than enough to leave 6 adults
feeling full to bursting, and also to make up two packed lunches for the following
day.

Sandwiches

Mary Berry top tip for fresh, moist sandwiches – made the
day before. Use fresh bread (obviously), mix of wholemeal and white, crusts removed (of course!), and don’t use fillings that are too ‘wet’, such as
tomatoes. Cut your sandwiches into
quarter triangles and place them on a tray, packing them tightly together.
Cover with a clean moistened tea towel (tucking in around the
edges). Cover the whole tray with cling
film or foil and pop in the fridge. I
did a selection of egg mayo and cress, ham and mustard, tuna mayo and cucumber,
smoked salmon and cream cheese, pastrami and red onion chutney.

Mary Berry Orange Butterfly
Cakes

I adapted the recipe for these gorgeous little cakes, and used lemons instead of oranges, as
I thought I might struggle to find orange curd in any of my local supermarkets.
Click here for full recipe.

Mary Berry Tea Time Scones

I added a few
sultanas to this recipe and served them with fresh strawberries, strawberry
conserve and clotted cream. Click here for full recipe.

Mary Berry Chocolate
Tray Bake

The best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted! Beautifully crumbly and melts in the mouth. My feather
icing wasn’t hugely successful (perhaps just need a bit of practice)... but who
cares, it tasted amazing. Click here for full recipe.

The Finishing Touches

I love setting a nice table, and actually enjoy this bit far
more than making the food. For an
afternoon tea table, I think it looks delightful when everything’s a little bit
mixed up, not matching and a tad ‘vintage’ in style. I’ve kind of stuck with a colour ‘theme’
but the whole table’s made of up odds
and ends, bits and pieces, either collected over the years, borrowed, or found
in my local charity shops. My dining chairs aren’t upholstered so, to make them
a little more comfortable for my guests, I placed a different coloured /
patterned scatter cushion on each, which looked really lovely. By having a bit of fun with this, enjoying
being creative, and using the little finishing touches that make me smile, I hope you'll agree, I managed to achieve the charming, and
‘evocative of a traditional tea party’ look I was going for.

Floral table-cloth, £2.50 local charity shop

Tea-light holders, collected over the years (gifts, charity shop finds, borrowed from daughter!)